Summary: Cameron, Sam, and Teal'c are amused to find Daniel and Vala in an unlikely place after they have gone missing for quite some time. DV

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Thin rays of morning sunlight streamed in through their small window, illuminating the peaceful pair asleep. Vala wore a camisole and matching panties. Daniel was shirtless and in a pair of thin pajama pants. Though they often began the night as far away from each other as possible, somehow the pair always managed to end up cuddled together. It was a truth that both had come to accept. It kept the nightmares away, they concluded.

She laid on her side with her head on his shoulder. He laid on his back with his head turned toward hers. His arm rested over her thin frame. One of Vala's legs had found its way on top of Daniel's. Their feet tangled together naturally. A pillow and a thin sheet had been pushed into a crumpled heap at the foot of the bed, casualties of this foreign planet's nighttime heat.

They didn't stir when the front door to their one-room shack creaked open. It was still much too early to wake up for a long day's work. Teal'c was the first to peek his head through the door. There wasn't much in the way of furniture here. Two chairs were situated by a crumbling fireplace. The only other sign of human life was the straw bed on the other side of the room, the one that contained the two people he had been searching for.

Before entering completely, he turned back to the others and put his index finger up to his mouth. Cameron and Sam were puzzled by his gesture to be quiet. They followed him into the cramped dwelling and soon realized why. There they were, sleeping peacefully as if nothing was wrong. As if they had never been chased away from the Stargate and its closest village by some angry locals. As if the second village that took them in had never refused to let them leave.

The three of them crept slowly toward the foot of the bed. They smirked at each other and tried to hold back the impending laughter. A month alone together certainly changed a few things for these two. Vala stirred. They stood straight at attention, fearful that they had woken her, even if that was their original intention.

"Vala?" Sam whispered.

"Princess, time to wake up," Cameron announced, his voice just above a whisper.

She brought her hands up to her face and rubbed her eyes. Without turning her head away from Daniel, she willed them to open. She had heard a familiar voice and wanted to investigate. One eye popped open, and then the other. She blinked them numerous times.

"Vala?" Sam whispered again.

She turned her head toward the sound. Her mouth gaped open in surprise as she sat up to face them. A small satisfied smile soon replaced her expression. "Well, it's about time!" she whispered back. "Where have you been?"

"Perhaps you should dress first before we explain," Teal'c said as quietly as his baritone voice would allow.

Vala suddenly looked down. No pants. With a sly look at Teal'c and Cameron, she pulled the sheet up over her legs. Vala grabbed the pillow from the foot of the bed and smacked Daniel's stomach with it. "Daniel! Wake up!" He jumped and grumbled, but refused to open his eyes.

After a few moments of defiant silence, he mumbled, "What time is it."

"Early," she replied.

Daniel pulled the pillow off his stomach and covered his face with it. "Then go back to sleep." He pulled at the back of her camisole and brought her back down to his level. She giggled and glanced toward their friends. Their smirks returned.

She cuddled next to him as before, but whispered in his ear to alert him of their teammates' presence. He shot up and the pillow flew like a projectile onto the wooden floor. He sat with eyes wide open now, staring at the rest of SG-1. "Guys! You're here! What took you so long?" Vala had already sat up next to him.

The three of them burst out laughing. Cameron managed to say between chuckles, "I'm gonna love reading your report, Jackson."

Daniel was clearly puzzled at his friends' reactions to seeing him again. He would have expected warm hugs and pats on the back, but not outright laughter. Then it clicked. He turned his head to the woman next to him. She imitated his movement and smiled back. "Good morning," she said simply.

"Morning." The corners of his lips rose into a slight smile. A month ago, his friends catching him in bed with Vala would have flustered him to no end because he was afraid of what they would think. But today, he wasn't sure he even cared. "So," he said casually, quelling their dying laughter, "what's new?"

"Oh I don't know, Jackson. You tell me," Cameron said as he quirked his eyebrows.

"Not much. Got stranded here. Had to get married to survive. You know, the usual."

Now the trio's mouths dropped to the floor. "Married?" Sam exclaimed.

"Yup."

"When?" Teal'c asked next.

Vala replied, "Oh, a few days after we got here. Daniel's been such a good sport." She grinned at her husband.

He rolled his eyes. "The natives didn't take too kindly to a man and a woman exiting the forest alone. They were going to skin us alive if we didn't pretend to be a married couple."

"Whew, you had me worried there. For a minute there, I actually thought you two had gone and gotten hitched!"

"But, we did." Daniel went on to explain after they gave him questioning looks. "Pretty soon the villagers were demanding some proof of our marriage. So Vala made up some story about being engaged and said we wanted to get married here. Unfortunately, these people were more than happy to oblige."

"Oh come on, Daniel. Being my husband hasn't been that bad! I've never seen you so relaxed and happy," Vala declared.

He thought about it a moment. "I guess. Anyway, when do we get out of here?"

"Now, if you like," his team leader said.

"Good, let's go." Daniel got off the bed and stood, still shirtless. Vala did the same on her side.

"Umm, Vala?" Sam started. "Don't you want to put on some pants first?"

"And do you not wish to acquire a shirt?" Teal'c asked of Daniel.

They both looked down at the same time. "Oh."

"Hand me my pants, darling. I think they're over there." She pointed to a pile of clothes on the floor. He did as he was asked and then asked her for a shirt. It was hidden in another pile of clothes on the floor. They quickly put on the clothes and waited patiently.

Cameron shook his head and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Something had to have make these clothes end up on the floor. "Odyssey, we found 'em. We're ready to disembark."

"Understood, Colonel. Initiating beam out…" a voice said over his radio.

The Asgard beaming technology worked perfectly and sent the now-whole SG-1 to the bridge of the Odyssey. The Colonel in command stood up from his chair to greet his new guests.

"ColonelPeterson, may I present DanielJackson and his wife, Vala… Jackson," Teal'c announced with an unusually large grin. Vala's grin grew just as large. Daniel turned to his friend in surprise. A look of betrayal crossed his face.

"Oooh, I think I like the sound of that," Vala said. Sam and Cameron chose that moment to burst back into laughter.

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Daniel laid in his bed staring up at the ceiling. It was his third night back on Earth, back in his own quarters at the SGC. His arms were crossed behind his head. He couldn't sleep and he finally understood why. Somebody was missing. Daniel had tried to deny his dependence on her the minute they had returned. He tried to forget how nice it had been to wake up to someone's smiling face in the morning.

Now he remembered being puzzled at how respectful Vala had been every night. Once they tied the knot, she never made an inappropriate move on him. She never asked him outright for sex or anything related. If that's what it took to get her off his back, he would have married her the moment he met her on the Prometheus. Daniel tried to shake the thought out of his head. "That's just crazy talk," he said to himself.

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Vala laid in her bed staring up at the ceiling. It had been three days and he had barely acknowledged their short-lived marriage unless they were in a briefing. She suddenly regretted holding back the entire month that she had alone with him. What was she thinking, waiting for him to make the first move? What made her think that it would have been better to let him realize things on his own? Like how lucky he was to have her as his wife? How gorgeous she was? How incredibly attractive he was to her in every way? How much she loved him?

She shook the questions out of her mind. "Silly. It was just silly."

A knock on the door interrupted her reverie. Vala got up and pulled on a bathrobe before answering it. The object of her obsession stood there with a sorry look on his face. "Did I wake you?" She shook her head and waited for him to explain his presence. "Can't sleep," he said simply.

"Me neither." One look in his eyes answered all her questions. Nothing more needed to be said. She knew he wanted to sleep next to her. Vala moved aside to invite him in. He got into bed and held his arms out for her. She removed her bathrobe and complied. Vala settled into his embrace naturally. 'Maybe not so silly after all,' she thought with a smile.

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I know, it's fluffy. There is no actual kissy-face or other unmentionables acts of love in this one. But for some reason, I just had to get it down. Was it worth it? You tell me.